When
our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth 2,000 years ago, the religious leaders
of the Jews were locked into a particular concept of how Messiah would
appear and what he would be like. They looked for a warrior-king who would
rescue his people Israel from the rule of the Romans. This fit some of
the Old Testament prophecies. But when Jesus came as the suffering servant
whom Isaiah had predicted they did not recognize him and could not accept
him.

The
result is expressed in some of the saddest verses in Scripture. "He
came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him"
(John 1:11). "I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away
from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (Matthew
21:43). "What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain"
(Romans 11:7). (Scriptures are from the New International Version unless
otherwise noted.)

As
we seem to be approaching the Second Coming of Jesus Christ we need to
be careful that we do not make the same mistake. We need to be careful
that we do not get so locked into one concept of how things will happen
that we are unable to see, or to accept, anything that does not fit our
preconceived concept. God's thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways
are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). God has given us everything we need for
life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). His Scriptures tell us all we need to
know. But it is also true that his judgments are unsearchable and his
paths beyond tracing out (Romans 11:33) The events of the end times may
not come in the way we expect them to come. God is sovereign. He will
not violate his word, but he is not bound to act in accordance with a
particular human interpretation of his word. We cannot limit God by our
theology.

There
is a second danger also. If God does not act in accordance with our expectations,
we may find that we have put such faith in our expectations that we face
a crisis of faith. "God, this is not happening in the way you said
it would." This may cause some to lose faith in Scripture, and even
in God. Some may become bitter at God. Jesus has warned us that in the
end times there will be a great falling away. "Many will turn away
from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets
will appear and deceive many people...the love of most will grow cold
but he who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:10-13).
One reason for this falling away may be that some will feel betrayed because
events in the end times are not working out in the way they were led to
expect .When Jesus speaks of a turning away from the faith he is speaking
of something extremely serious.

Jesus
said, "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me"
(Matthew 11:6 KJV) The NIV has "Blessed is the man who does not fall
away on account of me." (He was speaking about John the Baptist,
who apparently was troubled because Jesus was not acting like the Messiah
he expected.) Will we be in danger of being "offended", of "falling
away", if the end times events do not come in the way we expect?

While
on earth we see imperfectly and understand in part (1 Corinthians 13:12).
I believe this is just as true of our understanding of Scripture as it
is of anything else. We sometimes tend to place at least as much trust
in a particular church doctrine or theological teaching as we do in the
words of Scripture. I believe this can become a form of idolatry. God's
Scripture is true. Man's interpretation of Scripture is always fallible.

The
end-time prophecies in Scripture are fascinating. It is good to study
them and try to understand them. My purpose in this paper, however, is
to suggest that we need to be careful not to get so locked into one particular
view as to what will happen that we either (a) fail to see and understand
what is actually happening, or (b) face a crisis of faith when what happens
does not meet our expectations. We need to be ready for God to surprise
us, if he chooses to.

I
shall illustrate this theme with a two specific examples. There could
be others.

When is Christ
Coming?

In
recent years we have seen books in which the authors, based on detailed
study of Scripture, have "proved" to their own satisfaction,
and that of some of their readers, that Christ would come on a certain
date, or during a certain year. The problem is that he didn't. Some people
even sold property, gave up jobs, moved to new locations, etc. to be ready
for an event that did not happen. Doubtless there will be other such attempts
from time to time, with no greater success.

Jesus
told us that "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels
in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). "The
Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (Matthew
24:44). My sense is that God does not want us to know when Christ will
come. He wants us to be ready for him to come one minute from now, or
several years, decades and perhaps even centuries from now. He wants us
to be constantly ready. I suggest that we should not try to know something
that God apparently does not want us to know. Jesus said he would come
when we do not expect him. If we try to specify a time for his coming.
are we not going contrary to his word?

When Will the Rapture
of Believers Come?

Scripture
speaks of a "rapture" when believers will be taken up into heaven
to join Christ. It also speaks of a "great tribulation" - a
time when things on earth will be far worse than they have ever been.
Much has been written about whether the rapture will come before, or during,
or after, the "great tribulation." Those advocating each viewpoint
are sincere Christians who find support for their position in Scripture.

When
all is said and done, I think we have to admit that we do not really know
with certainty what the sequence of events will be. And I think we do
not need to know. I don't see how the knowledge of this issue affects
what we should be doing now to know God more fully, to be transformed
into his likeness, to bring others into the Kingdom of God, and to make
disciples.

The
danger I see is that if we confidently expect to be taken up out of the
earth before the "great tribulation" comes, and then find ourselves
undergoing the kind of circumstances that Jesus was describing, we may
feel that we have been betrayed. (Or perhaps we will doubt that we were
ever really saved.) Because our trust was in one particular interpretation
of Scripture, we may not be equipped to handle it if things turn out differently
than we were led to expect. The result could be despair, a sense that
God has forsaken us or betrayed us, loss of faith in Scripture, loss of
faith in God, anger and bitterness at God, hopelessness, "falling
away", and much else.

I
suggest that it is the course of wisdom in this area to say to people:
"This is how I think it will be but I'm not sure. None of us really
knows. We need to be prepared for whatever will happen and to know that,
no matter what happens, 'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present
help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear...' (Psalm 46:1-2)."
God is bigger than any trouble we may face and he can bring us through
it.

In
the days of Daniel, the three young men said, "The God we serve is
able to save us from [the blazing furnace] , and he will rescue us from
your hand, O king. But even if he does not... we will not serve your gods"
(Daniel 3:17-18, emphasis added). If God lifts us out of the world before
the "great tribulation" comes that will be wonderful. But "even
if he does not", we can continue to have faith in him and his protection
(see Job 13:15). The God who told his people that they can pass through
water and not drown, and through fire and not be burned (Isaiah 43:1-3)
is able to protect us from whatever may come. Whatever the circumstances
we can learn to be content (Philippians 4:11) and to give thanks (1 Thessalonians
5:18). No matter what happens we can be more than conquerors (Romans 8:37).

The
great tribulation will involve huge numbers of people. But there is a
suffering church right now, and the First Century Christians endured heavy
persecution. The God who is able to empower his servants to endure years
of torture in a Chinese prison, or heavy persecution in many Islamic countries,
will, if need be, empower us to endure even the great tribulation.